This dilapidated, abandoned home on Main Street in Telluride had seen better days and was slated for demolition. It spoke to me of wild parties, first love, great powder days, and a time when you had to ride four chairlifts to get to the top of the mountain. The exuberant display of poppies and a prayer flag proclaimed a wish for peace and respect for beauty. This home captivated me. I completed the painting during the Telluride Plein Air Event.

This painting was done at the Steamboat Art Museum Plein Air Quick draw in two hours. The model is a legendary Steamboat local, a horseman and skier who is recognized by his buckskin coat. I was pleased this painting sold at auction for the highest bid of the event.

BiographyThank you for visiting my website! As an art collector, you know the enjoyment living with a beautiful painting can bring. Whatever memory or emotion a painting elicits makes it a joy to behold; and a well chosen work of art can give years of enjoyment. In my landscapes, I strive to capture an emotion or truth of a place. If I am true in my rendering, then my painting will achieve a universal truth. My art only begins a conversation with the viewer. Real meaning comes from the heart.Awards and Recognition:
2019 Award for Excellence OPA National Show Plein Air Event
2018 Zion National Park Plein Air Invitational
2017 Second Place Award Steamboat Art Museum Plein Air2016 Second Place Award Steamboat Art Museum Plein Air Event
2014 Best of Show Plein Air Artists of Colorado, Abend Gallery Denver CO, "Convergence"2014 Telluride Plein Air2014 Solo Show Circle Seven Fine Art Steamboat Springs CO2013 Special Award for Excellence Moab Plein Air2008 Third prize Estes Park Plein Air Painting the Parks
Although Bonnie McGee has painted since childhood, attending summer classes at the Art Institute of Chicago at age nine, she began to paint full time in 1999 after attending the Plein Air Painters of America workshop in Steamboat Springs. She has studied with Albert Handel, Tucker Smith, Kevin MacPherson, Quang Ho, Scott Christensen and Kathryn Stats. After years of participating in various plein air events including Estes Park, Telluride and Steamboat Springs, in 2014 she captured Best of Show honors at the Plein Air Artists of Colorado Juried Show in Denver. Her studio and plein air paintings hang in corporate and personal collections in the US and abroad.

Painting is but one of many passions. McGee is an accomplished sailor, having completed a four and a half year circumnavigation on her 33 foot sailboat via Panama and South Africa. Her inspiring and beautifully [...]